3 ms·

Before those books, there was a non-fiction book called The Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe [0]. It was a reference for travellers in Europe on a budget, somethin

Before those books, there was a non-fiction book called The Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe [0]. It was a reference for travellers in Europe on a budget, something similar to the niche the Lonely Planet books fill today. It was a big tome, updated regularly with new editions from 1971 through the mid-90s, and well enough known that Douglas Adams' readers would have got the joke. My parents had a copy. That's the original inspiration for the in-universe Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and perhaps the better point of comparison for other guides that are named after it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitch-hiker's_Guide_to_Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitch-hiker's_Guide_to_Europe

parksy 6y ago
Thanks for the insight, I never heard of this until today and this adds another dimension to explore. I read some excerpts here https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A4158164 https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A4158164 and it definitely adds context that only really improves my interpretation of the Douglas Adams series. "Always carry a towel" is one such reference that I can now replay and re-imagine as a parody of the original guide. I'd assumed them to just be a random amalgamation that parodies the overall genre of various guides and travel literature, it's fun to know there's a solid reference point. As for the relevance of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to <subject>" title format in light of this information, I agree with you that the original source is a better comparison point; while there will be a lot of fans of the Adams work who can relate on that level, there will be others who either owned or knew about the original source of the parody who will interpret the format more closely to its intention. And ultimately it's a format that's so frequently used that there will be a broader spectrum of people for whom "Hitchiker's Guide..." is just synonymous with "down and dirty advice to get you started quickly, without pretension." This has turned out to be an interesting rabbit hole, personally at least.

parksy 6y ago

Thanks for the insight, I never heard of this until today and this adds another dimension to explore. I read some excerpts here https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A4158164 https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A4158164 and it definitely adds context that only really improves my interpretation of the Douglas Adams series. "Always carry a towel" is one such reference that I can now replay and re-imagine as a parody of the original guide. I'd assumed them to just be a random amalgamation that parodies the overall genre of various guides and travel literature, it's fun to know there's a solid reference point. As for the relevance of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to <subject>" title format in light of this information, I agree with you that the original source is a better comparison point; while there will be a lot of fans of the Adams work who can relate on that level, there will be others who either owned or knew about the original source of the parody who will interpret the format more closely to its intention. And ultimately it's a format that's so frequently used that there will be a broader spectrum of people for whom "Hitchiker's Guide..." is just synonymous with "down and dirty advice to get you started quickly, without pretension." This has turned out to be an interesting rabbit hole, personally at least.